Targeted screening could find 1,000s more cancers

New scans work better on dense breasts

- BY MARTIN BAGOT Health Editor

BETTER breast cancer scans could spot 3,500 more cancerous lumps a year, saving hundreds of lives.

A study in the Lancet shows extra scans for women with dense breasts can pick up early stage cancers that remain hidden during regular mammograms.

Cambridge University scientists say the scans make blood vessels clearer and would more than treble detection.

Around 10% of women have very dense breasts, which means they have more fibrous and glandular tissue and less fatty tissue.